Seeds unearthed in files

Botanists hope that seeds that came to Britain as spoils of war more than 200 years ago may soon spring into bloom.

More than 30 types of plant are thought to be involved in a discovery by researchers investigating files at the National Archives in Kew, south-west London. A leather notebook owned by a Dutch collector contained the natural treasures, including the king protea, the national flower of South Africa, above, brown-beard sugarbush and glossy-eyed parachute daisy.

The archivists called in their neighbours at Kew Gardens to see if they could make the seeds germinate and grow. The 19th-century booty is being examined at the Millennium Seed Bank in Wakehurst Place, West Sussex.

A spokesman, Trevor Butler, said: "The precise storage conditions of the National Archives means that there is a slim chance that our experts can germinate the seeds."

The seeds were found in the back of a notebook labelled Jan Teerlink, from Flushing (Vlissingen), Netherlands, and wrapped in envelopes with names inscribed in Latin.

Teerlink is thought to have collected the seeds at the Cape before being captured by the British in 1803.

Papers found in the collection from the high court of the admiralty suggest that Teerlink's ship, the Henrietta, had been on a voyage collecting goods around the world.